Machines such as motor graders employ a long blade that is used to level work surfaces during the grading phase of a construction project or the like. These blades often encounter abrasive material such as rocks, dirt, etc. that can degrade the working edge, making such blades ineffective for their intended purpose. In some applications, it is desirable to use mining bits or the like to help break up the working surface such as dirt, soil, rocks, etc. before grading or leveling the surface. Currently, adapter boards have been developed in the field to provide the needed flexibility to be able to use mining bits and other configurations attached to a ripper carriage assembly without needing to change out the entire carriage assembly. However, these designs have drawbacks such as needing several boards to be used to which the mining bits may be attached. Often, an odd number of adapters are needed such that one of these adapters is disposed at a seam between the boards, meaning that the adapter is not properly supported. Also, these boards are susceptible to wear faster than desirable. Moreover, these boards are often heavier and more expensive than desirable.
One prior attachment system that allows a plow blade for a bulldozer to also act as a ripper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,475,710 to McCauley. This patent discloses a plow blade that is attached to the bulldozer using a frame or brace members. Ripper blades or bits are attached to the frame behind the blade.
However, the design disclosed in McCauley suffers from several deficiencies in satisfying the needs of the present application. First, McCauley does not teach how to attach mining bits to a motor grader, which typically has a different construction as compared to a bulldozer. Second, this patent requires the welding of a plurality of attachment brackets to the frame of the machine, which is time consuming and expensive. Third, McCauley teaches a complicated system where the spikes are not immediately adjacent the blade, instead having a staggered arrangement of the spikes, and means for changing the depth of the spikes, etc. Accordingly, there exists a need for an adapter system for motor graders to easily and inexpensively attach mining bits or the like to the ripper carriage assembly thereof.